a word from the creator

Back in 2005 I started filming my two grandmothers: “Mémé”, who was born in Warsaw, Poland, in 1916 and “Nano” who was born in 1933 in Cairo, Egypt. Both migrated to France in the 1950’s. Back then I wanted to capture both the diversity and the unity found within my two different heritages and it often boiled down to what my grandmas would cook for me. I never feel more Polish or Egyptian than when I eat a bite of marinated herring (usually with a shot of vodka, I’ll give you that) or devour a cheese boreka (guess who makes the best ones in the world?).

I dropped that project when I moved to New York and because my grandma Mémé passed away. But one sleepless night in 2013 I realized that the story I wanted to tell, that of bringing together food, a history of the 20th century and very intimate, personal stories, could be written by multiple hands. And in this way, it could have even more resonance.

Grandmas Project is my proposal to collectively share, explore and celebrate what our grandmothers have passed down to us – through food, the world’s most delicious heritage.

the concept

The heart of Grandmas Project is a free, online series of films made by filmmakers around the world, with just three simple rules. Each filmmaker:

1. films his or her own grandma
2. demonstrating one recipe
3. in an eight-minute film

Interested? Apply here. Not a filmmaker? No worries. We invite all of you to share simple contributions here.

We’re also setting up events blending food, films and music. Actual grandmas are VIP guests at our events, hence the name of these parties: Bring Your Own Grandma! More information on our Facebook page.

In the near future we’re planning to launch an app and a recipes/stories book. Have other plans for us? Just drop us an email.